


This is the Return to Life

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Endgame Spoilers Ahoy, Endgame: Fix-It, F/F, F/M, Fix It Fic, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Post-Endgame, established relationships - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 14:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18741283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: After everything, Clint and his family are working to rebuild.





	This is the Return to Life

**Author's Note:**

> had some thoughts when I was thinking abt caps little time adventures at the end of the film, and thought this would be a nice little fix it bit. 
> 
> big thanks to hannah for beta'ing!
> 
> enjoy!

Clint is keenly aware of his daughter’s eyes on him, which is why he says, “If you keep staring at me like that, I’m gonna eat your sandwich.” He holds up one half of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and waggles it.

Lila doesn’t even try to snatch it from him. Her face is pulled down in lines of sadness. “Are you okay?” She asks after a tense beat.

Clint blinks, taken aback. “Yes?”

Lila isn’t convinced. “It’s okay to be upset.”

“I know that,” Clint says. He keeps his voice even and steady; if he doesn’t, he’ll either snap at her or break down and neither of those are things he wants right now. “I’m...alright. Not great,” he concedes. “But I’m okay. I’ve got you and mom and Nate and Coop back. I’m alright.”

Lila bites her lower lip and finally reaches out to snag the other half of the sandwich off the plate in front of Clint. She takes a bite and chews thoughtfully. She swallows, lips smacking, and says, “You sure?”

Clint nods. “I’m sure.”

Lila takes another bite. “Okay.”

They eat together in silence for a few minutes; by the time they’re brushing crumbs off their shirts, they’re both smiling. Clint stops Lila before she can take off to go play with her brothers to tug her into a hug.

“Love you, kiddo,” he says, pressing his face to the crown of her head. “Thanks for checking up on me.”

She hugs him back. “Course. I miss aunt Nat too, y’know.”

Clint holds her tighter. “Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah, I know.”

When Lila finally pulls back, her eyes are shining. “I love you too, dad.”

He ruffles her hair. “Go have fun, I’ll clean up.”

Clint watches her take off, the screen door creaking on its hinges behind her. The sounds of her and her brothers’ laughter floats in and warms Clint to his toes. It’s a sound he sorely missed in the five years after the Decimation, and one he’s still not done cherishing even now, weeks later.

He sets the knife, coated in peanut butter, in the sink before screwing the cap back onto the tub. He sticks the jam in the fridge and shoves the loaf of bread back into the breadbox. He wipes up the crumbs and picks up his plate, taking it to the sink to wash.

Laura clears her throat, and were he a lesser man he might’ve been startled. As it is, he aims a grin at her over his shoulder.

“Lila’s just worried,” Laura says. She walks into the kitchen and wraps her arms around Clint’s waist, moving with him as he goes through the motions of washing the dishes.

“I know,” he says. “I really am doing fine.”

Laura kisses the back of his neck. “It’s okay if you’re not.” She presses her forehead between his shoulder blades. “I’m not,” she whispers. “Not all the time.”

Clint stops and presses his hands against the edge of the sink.

“I loved her too, you know,” Laura murmurs.

“I know.” Clint’s grip turns white-knuckled, painfully tight. “But she wouldn’t want us to dwell.”

“We’re not dwelling, we’re mourning,” Laura says, voice sharper. “It’s only been a few weeks.”

Clint sighs. “I know. But it feels like...Years, sometimes.” _Because it has been,_ an unhelpful voice in the back of his mind supplies.

Laura kisses the skin just above the collar of his shirt. “I know, babe, I know.” She holds him tighter.

Clint draws in a shaky breath but a shout from the yard has him tensing up. Laura steps back and heads toward the door and Clint barely takes the time to grab a towel to dry his hands before he’s hot on her heels. The closer they get to the door, the louder the shouts become; slowly, Clint realizes they’re not shouts of terror or fear. Instead, they sound delighted, interspersed with the bright sparks of children’s laughter.

Laura makes it outside first and the heavy gasp she makes has Clint’s heart stopping in his chest.

What he sees just beyond her, surrounded by his three children, has his heart starting up again and going double time.

Laura stops in her tracks, hands thrown over her mouth. Clint passes her, not unkind but stunned. Lila turns and looks at him, tears streaming down her cheeks; Nate doesn’t really seem to understand but he seems excited, and Cooper looks shocked, breathless, about the same as Clint feels.

He staggers to a stop in front of his kids, all of whom back away slowly, retreating back to Laura with wet smiles on their faces.

“Nat,” he breathes.

Nat smiles. “Hey.”

Clint hugs her and falls to his knees at the same time and they go tumbling down together. Her hands knot in the back of his shirt as she clings to him and Clint hides his sob against her neck. She’s dressed exactly as she was when he last saw her, skin tight suit and blonde-and-red hair drawn into a little braid. She looks tired.

She’s _alive_.

“How,” he whispers. “How?”

“A soul for a soul,” she replies. “When Steve returned the stone, Vormir returned me. He did me favor before returning the rest of the stones.”

Clint eventually sits back. He cups her face and she smiles. “You’re really here.” He still can’t quite believe it. Like any minute, she’ll disappear between his hands, out of his grasp again.

Distantly behind them, he’s aware of Laura telling the kids to go inside, mentioning something about how Nat’s probably starving.

“Are you?” He asks.

Natasha laughs. “I could eat,” she agrees.

Clint swallows. He takes a hand from her face to wipe at his own tears, effectively just smearing them across his face. He startles when Nat’s hands brush his cheeks, clearing away the salt. “Nat,” he says softly again.

“I’m here,” she says before kissing him.

It’s gentle and soft, hurts like a bruise but feels like a breath of fresh air. Clint sobs first then inhales, presses closer, kisses her harder. Her arms wind around his neck and his find her hips and the kiss tastes like dust and salt and the scent of o-zone Clint’s come to know as space.

They break apart when a shadow looms over them. Clint looks up to see Laura grinning down. She sinks to her knees too.

“Laura.” Natasha leans in first and Laura meets her halfway, and it’s like all the shattered pieces of Clint’s heart coming back together. Laura runs a hand through Nat’s hair, fussing with the braid until she can tug the hair tie out, toss it aside.

Laura’s fingers run through and untangle the knots in Nat’s two-toned hair. It’s an awkward angle, with one of Nat’s arms still around Clint and the other reaching for Laura, all of them knotted up and tangled together themselves.

The kiss ends with quiet, heavy breathing. For a moment, they simply all stare at each other.

“We’ll need to call Bruce,” Clint points out eventually. “He’s gonna be…”

“I know,” Natasha says. “But…” She looks down and her hand around his shoulders drops to hang between them. Clint links their fingers. “For now…” She trails off again.

Laura picks up where she left off. “Of course you can stay. Our home is your home.” With that, Laura stands and tugs at Clint and Nat both to do the same. “C’mon, there’s a jar of peanut butter with your name on it waiting, along with three very excited kids.”

Laura grins, like it’s easy. Like it hasn’t been nothing but a bone-deep ache since Clint returned from Titan. Like his and Laura’s reunion wasn’t tinged with bitterness when he had to tell her what happened to Natasha.

“C’mon,” she says again, taking each of their hands. “Time’s a’wasting.”

Clint smiles at her and then at Nat.

Together, they go inside.


End file.
